20th Annual Newport Half Marathon to Bring Over 3,000 Runners to Jersey City

Over 3,000 runners will gather in Jersey City Sunday morning for the 20th Annual Newport Half Marathon.

Runners from all around the country will compete for $3,000 in prize money on a 13.1-mile race course that treads along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway from Newport to Liberty State Park.

“It brings people in from not only New Jersey and the metropolitan area, but outside of that area as well,” said the race’s co-director Robert Barwick said. “You’ve got people from everywhere. I got an email from a guy from Spain who participated last year.”

The race, which is sponsored by Direct Edge and organized by the Barwick Group and various other community groups, features views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

“It’s beautiful. I usually get choked up seeing the Statue of Liberty at the five or six mile marker,” said Mark Washburne, a regular participant of the race since at least 2004. Washburne, 57, of Mendham, is a professor of history at the County College of Morris, and has been running at least a mile every day since 1989.

According to compuscore.com, which tracks road race results, the number of participants in the half marathon increased by about 500 every year since 2008. After dipping slightly in 2011, the pool of participants shot up by 600 in 2012 for a total of 2,863 runners.

“Interest in the half marathon distance has grown tremendously in the United States,” Barwick said. “The Newport Half Marathon is part of that surge.”

All proceeds from the race will be donated to the Jersey City Medical Center.

Mark Rabson, director of public affairs at the Jersey City-based hospital, said that the money would be used to enhance services in the emergency room.

The race starts at 8:30 at Newport Town Square. For more information and registration, visit newporthalfmarathon.com.thon.com.